Questioning Minds: Short Stories by Modern Korean Women Writers

Notes

Notes Preface 1. My previously published translations that have been revised for this anthology are Na Hye-sŏk’s “Kyŏnghŭi,” in Korean Studies 26, no. 1 (2002): 61– 86; Kim Wŏn-ju’s “Awakening,” in Korean Studies 21 (1997): 22–30; and Pak Wan-sŏ’s “Dried Flowers,” in Korean Literature Today 4 (Winter 1999): 66–93. Introduction 1. The “Three Rules of Obedience” (samjong chido) prescribed that a woman, before marriage, should obey her father; after marriage, her husband; and after her husband’s death, her son(s). This effectively defined a woman’s identity by her subordinate relationships to men in her life cycle and within immediate familial boundaries. The “Seven Vices” (ch’ilgŏ chiak), on the other hand, encapsulated conditions for divorcing women: disobedience to in-laws, childlessness, adultery, jealousy, larceny, talkativeness, and hereditary illness. Here, the injunction against “jealousy” meant that a woman had to accept her husband’s philandering or maintenance of concubines without complaint, while the ban on “talkativeness” signified the literal as well as figurative silencing of women. For details about principles, codes, and rituals that regulated the lives of traditional Korean women, see Martina Deuchler, “Confucian Legislation: The Consequences for Women,” in her Confucian Transformation of Korea: A Study of Society and Ideology (Cambridge, Mass., and London: Council on East Asian Studies, Harvard University, 1992), 231–281. 215 2. The famous phrase coined by Virginia Woolf in her essay “Professions for Women.” See Woolf, Women and Writing, edited and with an introduction by Michèle Barrett (New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979), 58. 3. See Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (New York and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, c. 1929; reprint, 1957), 54. 4. The Hyŏndae Literature Award was established in 1955 by the publisher of the monthly literary magazine Hyŏndae munhak (Modern literature), with the objective of discovering new young authors. The annual prize was first awarded in 1956. Later its policy was revised to include established writers. Sharing the same purpose, the Tong-in Literature Award was initiated in 1955 to commemorate Kim Tong-in (1900–1951), a pioneer of the Korean short story genre, and became an annual award in 1956. Likewise, the Yi Sang Literature Award was established in 1977 in memory of Yi Sang (1910–1934), an innovative and gifted writer whose career ended with his early death. It is also conferred annually. 5. Most representative of the court women’s prose writing is Hanjungnok (Record of sorrows; 1795–1805), by Princess Hyegyŏnggung (or Lady Hong; 1735–1815), the wife of Prince Changhŏn (or Prince Sado; 1735–1762) and the mother of King Chŏngjo (r. 1776–1800). Hanjungnok, Lady Hong’s memoirs , was produced late in her life and was written to reveal the details of the tangled court politics that led to the horrendous death of her husband, who suffocated inside a rice chest in which he had been locked by his father, King Yŏngjo (r. 1724–1776). 6. See Sharon L. Sievers, Flowers in Salt: The Beginnings of Feminist Consciousness in Modern Japan (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1983), 163–188. 7. For more information on this topic, see Yung-Hee Kim, “From Subservience to Autonomy: Kim Wŏnju’s ‘Awakening,’” Korean Studies 21 (1997): 5–7. 1. A Girl of Mystery 1. The places cited in this story are the best-known scenic sites in and around P’yŏngyang. 2. “Songs of Melancholy” is a famous folk song expressing longing for one’s lover, with the scenic Taedong River as its backdrop. 3. “Kahŭi” means “a beautiful girl,” whereas “Pŏmnye” means “a plain maiden.” 2. Kyŏnghŭi 1. The Japanese name of the school is Shiritsu Joshi Bijutsu Gakkō. Founded in 1901 at Yumichō in Honkō Ward in Tokyo, it was the first Japanese fine 216 Notes to Pages 1–24 arts college for women. Burned down in 1908, the school was rebuilt at Kikusakachō in Honkō Ward. 2. The magazine Hakchigwang (Light of learning), was published by the Korean Student Association in Japan in 1914. 3. Na was married on April 10, 1920, to Kim U-yŏng (1886–1958), a Kyoto University graduate and friend of her elder brother. 4. As a result of this unprecedented event, Na was lionized in Seoul society. The exhibition hall was crowded with thousands of visitors...